On October 30, 2019, the Mayor and Commission approved Item No. C4F referring the North Beach Regional Parking Analysis to the NQLC. 

As you may recall, Walker Consultants, Inc. was engaged to perform a regional parking analysis of North Beach as the City is pursuing multiple development projects in the area having a variety of land uses including civic, recreational, entertainment, and educational uses that will impact parking demand/utilization. 

Walker was tasked with projecting parking demand for each project as well as within the study area; and perform a parking alternatives analysis and interim parking plan during the construction phases of the projects, including overlap periods.  The focus of the analysis is subdivided into the Town Center area (south of 72^nd Street) and North Shore (north of 72^nd Street).

In an effort to fully understand the intent and full scope of the project and planned developments in North Beach, Walker held meetings with stakeholders, including Carolina Jones, North Beach Neighborhood Alliance; Ocean Terrace Holdings (developer); and respective city departments with key roles, including the Office of CIP (Capital Improvement Projects), Parks and Recreation, Planning, Economic Development, Tourism and Cultural Development, Public Works, Transportation, Parking, and City Manager’s Office.

The report contains an Executive Summary that encapsulates their findings and recommendations.  Essentially, Walker provides the following recommendations:

1. North Shore – Replace Municipal Parking Lot No. P92, located at 299-72^nd Street with a minimum 490+/- parking structure. Please note Walker cautions the City that the projected peak hour demand (4:00 PM only) is an additional 230 parking spaces (489 + 230 = 719) to satisfy seasonal visitor activity parking needs.

2. North Shore – Pursue a shared public parking opportunity with an underutilized private parking lot north of 73^rd Street.   

3. North Shore Alternatives Analysis – Explore the temporary use of two city-owned unimproved parcels north of 85^th Street on Collins Avenue for an estimated 300-400 public parking spaces during construction periods, including overlap periods. This coupled with the North Beach Trolley loop provides transit access from 65^th Street to 88^th Street, allowing appropriate connections for the north/south Collins express line. 

4. Town Center - Retain the four small municipal parking lots (P80 – 30 spaces, located at 410-71^st Street; P83, 29 spaces, located 6933 Harding Avenue; P84, 53 spaces, located at 6950 Harding Avenue; and P85, 14 spaces, located 6977 Carlyle Avenue) for public parking purposes or in the event a public/private partnership opportunity exists, pursue a development agreement that includes a public parking component maintained and operated by the City.

Please note Walker’s recommendation above (No. 1) is to replace the existing surface parking lot (313 parking spaces) with a minimum 490+/- space parking structure.  The hourly parking demand projected by Walker (see page 19 of the report) was: 364 at 10:00 AM; 509 at 11:00 AM; 495 at 12:00 Noon; 508 at 1:00 PM; 519 at 2:00 PM; 549 at 3:00 PM; and peaked at 719 at 4:00 PM.  This 4:00 PM peak hour demand of 719 spaces is projected to have a deficit of 230 parking spaces (719 – 489 = 230).  However, it is important to note that at all other hours in their modeling (except the 4:00 PM hour) had parking adequacy ranging between a surplus of 125 to a deficit of 60 parking spaces.